A Portrait of Amy

I think I am getting back to normal now with a new computer, no 'flu and school holidays.

The school holidays are nearly two months this year because of the World Cup (though why the two are connected, I don't know!), so I'm not teaching and there are no art groups.

I have, however, taken advantage of all the workshops that our society organises during the Winter months, and last Tuesday did an oil portrait workshop with one of our top portrait artists, Lesley Charnock.  For the first time I worked with just 3 colours and white - it was a revelation and something I realise I should have done 3 years ago when I first started painting.

Amy was a superb model and I think I caught her likeness quite nicely.  So here she is - in ultramarine, cad red, cad yellow and a bit of titanium white!

Birds of the Gulf

I honestly think that if I couldn't connect with the blogging art world, I would be lost.  And lost I was for over a week when my computer totally died.  Dead.  No more.  And with it went all my information; email addresses, pictures, photographs, documents - ja, well, no, fine!!

So a new pc has been purchased, new (updated!) programmes installed and I am now trying to find my way around them!  My gosh, but the latest Microsoft Office is complicated!

So dear friends, that is why I have been missing in action!  I now have a lot of catching up to do and will eventually get to read all those back posts that I've missed.

And because it's been quite cold here, plus the week at Kirstenbosch and the touch of 'flu, my painting has been curtailed.  The World Cup has also run interference - tonight England is playing here in Cape Town and the town is full of Barmy Army people.  Our own Bafana Bafana didn't do too well the other night and probably won't qualify, but we're enjoying having the world in our little corner of Africa.  Who are you supporting??

So, the last thing I painted during my 'down' time, was this heron and it is part of the tribute to the Gulf Crisis Challenge that Suzanne McDermott has started.  Read all about what she is doing on her blog.  She is a truly wonderful person who cares totally about the environment and what we are doing to it.  Bless you Suzanne.

Butterfly

I haven't been doing very much just lately - the 'flu did knock me sideways and now I'm sitting at the Members Exhibition at Kirstenbosch every day for this week.

So I've been seriously missing from blog commentaries, but, like Arnie, I will be back.

In the meantime, this was done for James Parker's Windows to the Words blog last month - butterflies - those beautiful insects that are disappearing fast because we insist on killing caterpillars!  Thank you James, for those lovely pics.  Am looking forward to this month's challenge.